Sea Salt
by Spyrkle10
Summary: Namine smells like sea salt ice cream, and she's been echoing through his mind since he remembered her name. So he chooses differently. A oneshot of the moment.


Castle Oblivion was a place of nothingness and broken chains. No words would echo within its blank halls. But Naminé's words were echoing in Sora's head. He had to choose. To remember her or to forget. The smell of ice cream, the softness of her hair, the soft melody of her voice had been at the forefront of his heart since he'd remembered her name, which slipped through his mouth like melting butter. 

"Naminé," Sora said, his expression unwavering. Naminé flinched. He knew that maybe, if he couldn't feel how sad she was, if he naively thought he could make it all better with a few brave words, he would have chosen otherwise. But not-Riku had left despite earnest pleads in Sora's voice and all the sympathy he could muster. Why would Naminé be any different? If Riku _and_ Sora weren't with her, what would happen to the girl who he'd sworn to protect?

"I'll stay the same. For you," he boldly stated, grinning – because Naminé was so quiet and now it was unnatural. She should be smiling, refereeing races and not-so-gently waking him up when he dozed off, lightly giggling when Sora made silly boasts and puffed up his chest.

"S-sora…" Naminé whispered, and if Sora looked he could see tears. But she shouldn't be crying. He vaguely remembered her hugging him when he was really sad. Within a moment, he was in front of her, hugging her lightly. "Thank you," Naminé whispered, and this time he knew he shouldn't have heard because it was uttered softly as she exhaled all her worry, but he had. He had and now everything was going to be okay. No more freaky black-coated people trying to hurt her. Everyone was safe.

Goofy and Donald's eyes watered as they watched the touching scene. Sora heard the small sound of water dripping, then realized that his own tears were trickling down his cheeks. Naminé trembled in his arms, then wrapped herself around Sora.

"Are you sure?" the memory witch tentatively asked. She held her breath as she waited for the answer. He had to make her feel better. He had no idea what he was doing wrong. He was going to stay with her, keep her safe, they could go play on the beach again… Maybe that was it. 

"I promised to protect you, Naminé," Sora responded, then drew back to retrieve the charm. It was a symbol that she was fake, that his memories weren't real, but he believed in them and Naminé was so sweet and so nice. Holding it out to his childhood friend, he declared, "Even if I didn't really make that promise, I'll make it now. I promise to protect you from anything. Everything and anyone. Because… because I… because you're my best friend and I love you."

Goofy and Donald gasped and squawked respectively. But that wasn't important. His eyes focused on Naminé. "I… I…" Naminé struggled to speak, tears pouring down her face. "Why am I crying? Nobodies can't feel. I can't feel."

"You're somebody to me Naminé!" Sora yelled. Naminé was everything and her eyes were blue like a lake on a sunny day. "No whatever what those weirdos in black coats told you!" Sora's arms flailed about, trying to express how he felt.

Naminé rose her head to look at Sora, her mouth curved into a smile despite her wet eyes, not red even after all the crying. "I love you too, Sora. Let's… let's stay together," Naminé avowed. Her hand reached for his, and she clasped it firmly. Now that she had stopped being sad, going to the beach would make her happy. And maybe the real Riku would be there. They could get an ice cream with thirteen scoops piled up high and rush to lick to before it melted and splash each other in the sea.

"Want to go to the beach, Naminé?" Sora inquired, hoping that it wouldn't break the conversation into shards of glass. Naminé immediately stiffened, her lips mouthing a word so fast he couldn't see what it was and his heart nearly broke because he'd made _Naminé – wait, it was Kairi, something inside him whispered –_ upset, and her face should never be marred by anything. She should smile and laugh forever. "Wait! We can go get ice cream instead! It's okay!" Sora hastily went on.

"Yes!" Naminé agreed, her shoulders relaxing and her face tranquil once more.

"I have no idea where to go, though…" Sora sheepishly admitted.

"It's okay. I can take us there," Naminé smiled, and all was right with the world again.

"Don't forget about us!" Donald and Goofy interjected.

"We would never!" Sora laughed, and when Naminé opened a portal of darkness he walked straight through it, a blonde girl by his side.

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 **Sora had two choices at Castle Oblivion, and more people need to write about the could-have-beens. Since all my multi-chapter stories so far have been abandoned, I doubt I could get very far. All those people whose first fanfics end up being 50,000 words long? Either they're lying or they have some sort of blessing from the fanfiction heavens. So until I manage to write something long, I'll leave this oneshot, maybe as a placeholder.**


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